Trimming machine



May 20, 1941- v. H. MEYER 2,242,534A

TRIMMING MACHITNE Filed Nov. l. 1937 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 May 20, 1941.. v. H. MEYER y TRIMMING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Nov. l, 1937 May 20, 1941.,lv. H. MEYER 2,242,534

TRIMMING MACHINE Filed Nov. 1, 1937 4 sheets-sheet 4 Patented May 20, 1941 STT-TES APTENT OFFICE 'ERG MACHINE Vernon H. Meyer, Beverly, Mass., assignor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Borough of Flemington, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application November 1, 1937, SerialfNo. 172,115

18 Claims.

concerned more particularly with lthe problems of trirrnning cement-lasted shoes, 'Littleways 4and McKays, rather than those of trimming Welt shoes.

An object of the invention'is to provide improved means for guiding a shoe toe foremost to the severing means with a view to controlling the'depth of the severing out with the utmost precision. To this end, one feature of the invention is embodied in an improved combina- For an operation such as that above described,

the most .satisfactory type of severing cutter is `one that will operate with a draw or skiving cut.

The illustrated machine is provided with such a cutter in the form of a rotary circular disk.

The toe-gage in the illustrated construction is preferably mounted and constrained,y with regard to its path and range of movement, to be engaged by the toe of a shoe before the shoe is advanced far enough to be brought into contact with the side gages. The toe-gage is, therefore, effective to guide the toe of the shoe into the desired cooperative relation with the side` gages and thereafter to cooperate With the side gages in preventing or controlling longitudinal rocking of the shoe, the three gages furnishing a tripodal bearing on the shoe bottom during the later stages of trimming and the two side gages being effective to prevent widthwise rocking of the shoe. As herein illustrated, provision is made for regulating the path of travel of the toe-gage, to the end that the conjoint effect of all three gages may be regulated to produce a at trimming cut with one condition o-f regulation and a variable cut with another condition of regulation. In the latter circumstances as when the bottom of a last has considerable 4,crosswise convexity between the toe and the tip line that wouldcause a flat cut to remove stock from the bulging middle area of the insole, the cutting will take on a correspondingconvexity as the trimming operation progresses.

The Aproblem of insuring precision in the depth of the severing cut is due in part to the -fact that rapid production requires an operator `rto hold the shoe -in his hands and feed it manually to the cutter, andin part to the curvature o-f shoe bottoms land the tapering or wedge-like shapes of shoe toes. Accordingto kanother feature of the invention, the twoside gages are so mounted as to be wedged apart by the 'toe `Vof a shoe advancing between them, .their areas of contact with the bottom of the Vshoe being thereby maintained outside the area in which lthe pleats project. -Moreoven the side gages are so constructed'and varranged as to have Contact with the bottom-of a shoe `only at points or small Aareas adjacent to the cutting edge of the cutter, and a further feature consists in means for constraining the movements of the side gages to- Ward and 'froml each other to maintain their points of contact with the shoe bottom in vertually constant relation to the circular path in which the cutting edge travels, .to the end that the depth of the trimming cut will not be appreciably aected by the movements of the side gages away from each other. Accordingly, as herein illustrated, the side gages are constrained to move toward and from each other in arcs that `are so nearly coincidental with the corresponding arcs in which the cutting edge travels that the controlling effect of the side gages will be virtually uniform for toes of all `widths and shapes.

Referring to the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a fro-nt elevation of the operating assemblage of a .trimming machine embodying the present invention, only the upper portion of the supporting column being shown;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation, as viewed from left vto right, of the operating assemblage;

Fig. 3 is a topi-plan View including the trimming cutter, the .trimminggagea the forepart of a lasted shoe and a portion of a grinder for sharpening the cutter, the front of this assemblage being at the right;

Fig. 4 `is a top-plan view including a segment of the cutter about to complete a trimming operation, Aand it includes the trimming gages as having been displaced from their initial posilicfms by movement yof the shoe from right to Fig. `5 is an elevatio-n projected from Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a rear elevation including the trimming cutter and the sharpening assemblage, the direction of View being indicated by arrow A in Fig. 3;

Fig. '7 is a vertical section, partly in elevation, indicated by line VII-V11 in Fig. 3;

Fig. 8 is a front elevation, partly in vertical section, (see line VIII-VIII in Fig. 3) of the insole-gage; and

Fig. 9 is an elevation of an adjustable mounting by which the trimming gages are supported also provided with two additional pulleys 29 and 3D both amxed thereto, and with an idler 3| located between them. A single long belt 32 or two individual short belts, as the case may be, driven by a pair of pulleys (not shown) both rotating in a common direction, may be arranged to drive the countershaft 25 alternately in opposite directions, provided the single belt 32 is correctly looped over the pulleys on the countershaft or, if twoindividual transmission belts are used,

- one of them crossed and the other not crossed.

with provisions for regulating their paths of K movement to suit various trimming requirements, the direction of the view being indicated by arrow F in Fig. 1. As shown best in Fig. 7, the trimming cutter I is essentially a saucer-shaped disk or annulus of pressed sheet steel from which `a circular central portion is punched out to provide for locating the cutter in concentric relation to the rotary spindle I I by which it is carried'. The outer marginof the cutter isfrusto-conical and its rim is sharpened to providean endless cutting edge I2 that lies all in one plane, butV preferably this margin is provided with shallow, radially extending corrugations impressed into it, to the end that the cutting edge, when ground virtually in a plane at right angles to thel axis of the spindle II, will be slightly wavy (see Figs. 3 and 4) instead of truly circular. The cutter isy mounted to place its cutting edge 'at the bottom, that is, in a plane below the level of its inner margin, tothe end that the cavityV within the boundary of the cutting edge will Aprovide clearance for a toe-gage that travels under the cutter toward and from its axis. y y, A ange I3 formed on or a'lxed to the spindle provides an annular seat against` which the inner margin of the cutter may be clamped by a detachable clamping disk |4,.the flange I3 being provided with a circular concentric shoulder I5 adapted to fit closely in the central opening in the cutter and thereby maintain the cutter inv concentric relation to the spindle The upper end of the spindle is provided with a screw; thread-0n which a nut I6 is screwed to set up ithe clamping disk I4 tightly against the cutter.

During periods of use, the cutter be rotated continuously not only for trimming but also for sharpening its cutting edge, except thatpro vision is made for reversing its direction of rotation to utilize sharp portions of the wavy cutting edge when other portions become dull. The axis of rotation is vertical. Preferably the "spindle I| is -mounted in ball-bearings I1, I1 located in sockets formed in the head portion I8 of the frame, the upper bearing being 4constructed and mounted to serve also as a thrust bearing. A receiving pulley I9 afxed to the spindle I| is driven by a belt 20 that serves also,under, cerslots 28 through which the screws extend. This connection provides for setting up thendesired tensionY in4 the belt 20. The countershaft' 25 1S The bracket 26 is provided with a double beltshifter comprising forks 33 and 34. These are affixed to a rod 35 arranged to slide in bearings in the bracket 26. The forks 33 and 34 are so located lengthwise of the rod 35 that one of them will guide a loop of the belt 32 (or one of the individual short belts, if two are used) to the idler 3| while the other fork guides the other loop or the other individual belt to the pulley 23 when the rod 35 is 4shifted to the left as in Fig. 1, or to guide one of the loops or one of theindi vidual belts to the pulley 30 and the other loop or belt to the idler 3| Vwhen the rod 35 is shifted to the right. f y 1 i To control the presentation of the toe end of a lasted shoe to the operating segment at front center of the cutter I0, the machine is provided with a movable toe-gage 36, a pairA of side-gages 31, 31 and a movable insole-gage 38, 'l'he toe,- .gage 36 stands initially under andl slightlyin front of the operating segment of the cutter as represented in Fig. 3 but is arrangedto be pushed by the toe of a shoe to the positionrepresented in Fig. 4.' This gage is a part of a long arm arranged to swing 'about a pivot-pin 39, and its work-engaging portion is formed to be abutted by the toe of a shoe as illustrated in Fig. 5. The work-engaging portion is provided with a thin lip 40 yarranged to overlap slightly the margin 4| of the overdrawn upper previously lasted and secured to the insole 42 with cement alone at the toe-end where the pleats formed in lasting (Fig. 3) require the trimming operation hereinafter described. Thehorizontal projection of the lip 40 is not so great as to overlap or Vobstruct the pleats to be severed but is nevertheless sunlcient to control the upturned bottom of the shoe at the toe-end with respect to the level to which it may be raised by the operator before and while the shoe is fed to the cutter. The toe-gage is normally maintained in its initial position (Fig. `3) by a tension spring 43 and an adjustable stop# screw 68. Although the work-engaging portion of this gage necessarily moves in an arc, its general direction of travel is toward the axis 4of the cutter. In its initial position thev toe-gage projects a short distance infront `of vthe cutter where it masks the operating segment of the lcutter and is visible to enable the operator` to observe whetherthe toe of a shoe is correctly presented to it before any actual cutting begins. Again, when the toe-gage occupies its initial position, its work-engaging portion stands between the side-gages 31. y

The side-gages are alike and are similarly mounted, except that one is movable to the right while the other is movable to the left. Each side-gage consists essentially of a circular roll in the shape of a spool and is provided with a. thin circular lip or flange |40 at its upper end that underlies and barely clears the operating segment of the cutter. These lips are arranged to overlap the margin 4| of the lasted upper at points adjacent to the operating segment of the cutting edge, and their work-engagingsurfaces are preferably frusto-conical to a degree consistent with the usual crosswise convexityof a shoe-bottom. The lips of the two side-gages and the lip of the `toe-gage maintain ya threepoint bearing on the margin 4| while the shoe is moving 'toe foremost from its initial position (Fig. 3) to the position represented in Fi-g. 4.

'The side-gages are freely rotatable on spindles '44 (-Fig 5) carriedby arms 1M. Ihese arms are aixed respectively to vertical rockshafts d and the rockshafts are arranged to turn in bearings ina bracket I(l5 -aflixed to the frame I8. The lower ends of the rockshafts are interconnected insuch a way as to insure symmetrical movement-s of the side-gages toward and from each other, whereby the toe of a 'shoe is centralized with `respect rto the operating segment of the cutting edge. For this purpose levers 4l are pinned or otherwise afxed to the rockshafts, one extending to the front and the other to the rear (see Fig. 3) and their outer ends are connected by a link 58 and pivot-pins 59. Moreover, the rockshafts 45 are so located with respect to the axis of the cutter that as the side-gages move toward and from each other, their points of contact with the margin d! of a shoe will travel in paths that follow closely the adjacent segments of the cutting edge l2. The deviation of these paths of travel from the path of the cutting edge is so slight that it does no-t pro-- duce any appreciable variation in the effect of the side-gages in maintaining their points of contact with the margin lll virtually in register with the operating segment of the cutting edge. The side-gages are normally drawn toward each other by a tension spring 58, the ends of which are attached to the lower ends of the spindles 41V respectively. The force of this spring is sufficient to brace the shoe against sidewise displacement by the frictional drag o-f the cutter. To insure suflicient space between the side gages, to receive the toe-gage and to insure clearance of the gages when they occupy their initial positions as shown in Fig. 3, a short rod or spacer 5l (Fig. 1) of suitable length is arranged loosely in the convolutions of the spring 5i! and is supported thereby. When the side-gages are drawn toward each other by the spring, the ends of this spacer abut the spindles llllto arrest their movement of approach.

In the manufacture of shoes of the types under consideration, -it happens not infrequently that the insoles project slightly beyond the edges of the lasts in the foreparts and that they become compressed edgewise in consequence of the pressures applied to them in the lasting operations. When such conditions occur, they cause the insoles to bulge slightly away from the bottoms of the lasts, and if the bulging formations are not eliminated while the pleats and wrinkles of the overdrawn upper are being severed, the trimming cutter may cut into, and even remove, the bulging portions of the insoles. To guard against such a result, the insole-gage 38 is arranged to depress a bulging portion of the insole into `contact with the last while a trimming operation is in progress.

As shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the ,gage 38 is arranged to overhang and clear the margin il of a shoe and bear on the insole at a point adjacent to the pleats or wrinkles at the toe-end.

The initial position of this gage is represented .by broken lines in Fig. 8. The work-engaging extremity of `the gage .projects downwardly as shown in Figs. 5 and 8 to restrict contact with the shoe to a point in the longitudinal median line of the forepart. This gage is :arranged to rogck on a horizontal axis provided by a pivotpin 52 and to swing about a vertical axis provided by a pivot-pin 53 (Fig. `8). The pin 52 connects the gage to a supporting block 54 and the pin 53 provides .a swivel connection between the block and the supporting bracket (l5. A compression spring 55 supported by a reduced portion of a regulating screw 57 normally depresses the work-engaging extremity of the gage below the level of the lips itil of the side-gages (see Fig. l), the downward movement of the insolegage bein-g arrested by an abutment 58 (Fig. 8) projecting from the block 55. The screw 51 is carried by the block 54 and is eifective to arrest the upward movement of the `gage 38 at any selected level. When a shoe is brought up to its initial position of presentation to the toegage 35, the insole of the shoe rst comes into contact with the insole-gage 38 and raises the latter against the force of the spring 55. If, before such contact, the insole bulges away from the bottom of the last, the gage 38 and the spring 56, and finally the screw 51 will be eiective to eliminate the bulging condition and maintain the middle areal of the insole in contact with the last thereafter until the trimming operation is iinished.

The swivel connection provided by the pivotpin 53 enables the work-engaging portion of the insole-gage to partake of the feeding movement o-f the shoe as its toe-end is thrust under the trimming cutter, but when the shoe is removed after being trimmed, the insole-gage is automatically returned to its initial position represented in broken lines in Fig. 3 by a tension spring 59, one end of which, is connected to the bracket 45 by an anchoring pin 55 and the other end to the swiveled block 55 by a pin S l. The return movement of the block 54 to its initial -position is arrested by a stop-screw 52 (Fig. 3) screwed into the bracket '55.

The several trimming gages and the cutter operate as follows: When the operator raises the shoe to its initial position of presentation as represented by a broken line in Fig. 3, the middle area of the insole rst engages and raises the insole-gage 38. The operator now moves the shoe toe foremost to place its toe-end against the toegage 36 and under the lip 40, this stage of presentation being represented by solid lines in Fig. 3. The friction between the insole and the gage 38 is sufficient to carry the latter toward the toegage. The lip 48 of the toe-gage now overlapping the margin 4| of the shoe, maintains this margin below the plane of the cutting edge l 2 of the cutter and virtually in the plane of the lips IM) of the side-gages. As the shoe is 4thrust toward the axis of the cutter, the margin 4l is guided under and into contact with the lips of the side gages which prevent the margin from rising too high at two opposite points virtually in register with the operating portions of the cutting edge while the lip of the toe-gage prevents the toe end of 'the shoe from rising too high. As the shoe advances, it wedges apa-rt the side-gages 31 as represented in Fig. 4, the upwardly projecting portions of the pleats or wrinkles of the upper having a clear passage between the lips of the side-gages to insure the desired trimming effect of the cutter. The dotted line 54 in Fig. 4 represents the line of attack at which the cutting edge enters the material .to be trimmed. All the v.pleated material that projects above the plane of the cutting edge is severed by the latter in the form of a chip or strip of Waste 63 (Figs. 4 and 5), and the trimming cut runs out of the overdrawn margin 4| at two opposite points of its inner edge nearly coincident with the tip-line, although the cutting begins at a single point in the longitudinal median line of the forepart.

In many cases the trimming cut may be flat from beginning to end, as when the bottom of the for-epart of a last has little if any crosswse convexty. On the other hand, the bottoms of some lasts have considerable crosswise convexity between the toer'and the tip line, and in such cases, it is desirable to sever the pleats of the margins 4| with cuts that conform to, or approximate, such convexity to avoid cutting off the bulging middle area of the insole. Accordingly, the present invention makes provision for regulating and controlling the progress of the trimming cut in such a way 'that the beginning of the cut at a point near the toe-end will be flat, but` as the trimming progresses toward -the heel end and is divided to run along opposite sides of the toe, the cuts will gradually assume a convex curve and eventually run out of the margin 4|' at opposite points near or slightly behind the tip-line.

To provide for trimming in this manner `the toe-gage 36 is so mounted that its work-engaging portion may be caused to travel in a plane that intersects that of .the cutting edge within the boundary of the latter, to the end that the lip 4l) may actually enter the cavity in the cutter. Under ordinary conditions, as when no convex cutting is required, the axis of the pivot-pin 39 (Fig. 3) may be Virtually, if not exactly, parallel with the axis of rotation of the cutter, but when crosswise convexity of the ,trimming cut is desired, the axis of the pivot-pin 39 will be pitched so that its upper end will lean toward the front of the machine. When so pitched, the work-engaging portion of the toe-gage will have a slight component of upward movement as it travels toward the axis of the cutter, and this component will carry the lip 4|] into the cavity of the cutter and guide the toe of the shoe accordingly, the lips |40 of the side-gages remaining at a constant level to control the depth of the cut while' the toe-gage leads the toe of the shoe upwardly. Under this condition of adjustment rthe shoe, while advancing, will rock slightly on a crosswise axis intersecting its two points of contact with the lips of the side gages (see Fig. 4), and the initial atness of the trimming cut will become arched crosswise of the shoe because the cutting edge travels in a circle. For this purpose the means for mounting the toe-gage includes an individually adjustable bracket 65 (Figs. 1, 3 and 9) to which the hub of the toe-gage is connected by the pivot-pin 39. This bracket is secured to the adjustable bracket 46 by a horizontal clamping screw 66 and a pivot stud 61. The screw 66 extends through an oversize hole in the bracket 65 and has screw-connection with the bracket 46, the clearance between the shank of this screw and the oversize hole being suflicient to provide for angular adjustment of the bracket 65 about the pivot stud 61 whereby the axis of the pivotpln 39 may be arranged in parallelism with the axis of the cutter or otherwise, as required. The head of the pivot stud 61 is eccentric to adjust the toe-gage up or down in its initial position, where it should barely clear thelower surface of the cutter. The adiustables-top-screw 68 car- Yried by the toe-gage abuts a portion of the bracket 65 to arrest the toe-gage at its initial position.

The abrading wheel 2| (Fig. 7) underlies a rear segment of the cutter l0 and normally remains out of contact therewith and out of connection with the driving means by which it may be rotated to sharpen the cutter, but is so mounted in relation to the driving means that when lifted manually to its operative position, a driving connection is established incidentally to its upward movement. For this plll'pOse the machine is provided with a hand-lever 69 mounted on a stationary fulcrum-pin 10. This lever carries a swiveled lug 1| that projects into a circumferential groove between two flanges of a collar 12 aixed, as by a pin, to thelower end of a spindle 13. The abrading wheel is secured to the upper end of this spindle. The intermediate portion of the spindle extends through a lower bearing 14, an upper bearing 15 and two cooperative friction-clutch members, the driving member of which is the continuously rotating pulley 22 and the -driven member of which is a sleeve 16 located under the pulley.

To secure the abrading wheel to the spindle, the latter is provided with an integral flange 11 and with a detachable clamping disk 18 and a clamping nut 19 by which the web of the abrading wheel may be clamped. When the wheel is out of operation, as shown in Fig. '7, the flange 11 is seated on the upper bearing 15 which serves as a friction brake to arrest rotation of the wheel. Under these conditions, the driven member 16 of the clutch is out of engagement with the driving member 22 which is supported by a ball-bearing 80 mounted on a supporting sleeve 55 surrounding the spindle 13, but when the abrading wheel is raised by the lever 69, the weight of the wheel and the spindle is removed from the lower bearing 14 which thereupon becomes eiective to raise the driven member 16 of the clutch into engagement with the driving member 22. For this purpose the bearing member 14 is made in the form of a sleeve and is arranged to slide up and down in a bracket 8| of which the upper bearing 15 is a part. The sleeve 14 is provided with a circular ange against which the combined forces of three compression springs 82 (only one appearing in Fig. 7) are suicient to raise the driven member 16 into engagement with the driving member 22 when the load comprising the wheel 2| and the spindle 13 is sustained by the lever 69. Although the bearing sleeve 14 may move up and down within a limited range, it is held against rotation by the upper end of a screw 83 secured in the bracket 8|. The driving connection between the clutch member 16 and the spindle 13 is provided by a key 84 in the form of a collar. This collar is pinned to the spindle 13 and has a spline portion projecting into a key-way extending axially in the boreof the member 16.

The operation of the assemblage last described is as follows: Assuming that the cutter IIJ and the pulley 22 are both in rotation and that the abrading wheel 2| is out of rotation, as when the parts are as represented in Fig. 7, upward movement of the handle portion of the lever 69 will the member 22. The upward movement required -to establish the driving engagement of the clutch members is much less than that requiredto carry the abrading wheel into engagement with the cutter I0, and although the abrading Wheel m-ay not be rotating at full speed when it first engages the cutter, it will at least have some speed of rotation and its speed will gradually increase as the inertia of the driven load is overcome by the 'friction of the clutch members.

To guard against a sudden impact of the wheel 2| against the cutter, a yieldable stop is arranged to arrest upward movement of the lever 69 before the wheel actually touches the cutter. The stop comprises a screw 85 adjustably secured in the free end of a leaf-spring 88. As shown in Fig. 2 (dotted lines) the other end of the leafspring is fastened to the frame I8 by anchoring screws 81. When the screw 85 is correctly adjusted, it will arrest the lever and thereby warn the user that the wheel 2! is about to engage the cutter. The user will be required to exert a supplemental eiort to deflect the spring 85 before the wheel 2| actually touches the cutter, but the supplemental movement required to bring the Wheel against the cutter will be so slight that no sudden impact will occur.

Since the cutter'and the abrading wheel 2| both rotate at moderately high speed, a few sec- 'onds of abrading and a light touch are suicient to sharpen the cutter. When the user releases the lever 69, the entire load of the temporarily raised parts is imposed upon the bearing sleeve 'I4 which is thereby depressed to compress the springs 82 only far enough to enable the driven member 16 of the clutch to be diseng-aged from the driving member. The lange 11 of the spindle 13 finally returns to its seat on the upper bearing 15 after the clutch members become disengaged and the rotation of the abrading wheel iS thus arrested.

Figs. 2 and '7 include a device 88 by which the operating surface of the abrading wheel may be dressed to maintain it in true condition for operation. This device is adjustably clamped in the move it with his left hand to the position shown v in the drawings, and will then use his right hand to raise the abrading wheel by means of the lever 89. This will engage the clutch 22, 16 before the abrading wheel engages the device 88.

W'hile the abrading wheel is in Contact with the device 8B, the latter may be oscillated to and fro about its fulcrum pin 9%, the lever 88 being provided with a knob for manipulation.

In Fig. 6 .the broken line B represents the axis of the cutter while the broken line C represents the axis of the abrading wheel 2i. These axes are not quite parallel, their angle of divergence being `about one or two degrees which is sufficient to restrict .the contact of the abrading wheel with the cutter to a short segment as at D (Fig. 3). Otherwise viewed, :the axis of the abrading wheel may lie in a plane parallel with the axis of the cutter as represented in Fig. 7, in which case the abrading wheel will generate a flat surface at :the bottom of the cutter. This 'I result will be satisfactory when the cutter is .to be used to trim with a flat cut from beginning to end, since the cutter will not then require any cutting clearance. On the other hand, when the toe-gage 36 is adjusted to lea-d the toe of a shoe upward-ly in an inclined plane as hereinbefore explained, the bottom surface of the cutter should not be strictly at but should have a slight concavi-ty in the surface generated by the abrading wheel to afford :the required cutting clearance. Accordingly, the abrading assemblage is mounted to provide for tilting its axis toward the rear far enough to satisfy this requirement. For this purpose the bracket 8| for supporting the abrading assemblage is mounted on a pivot stud 93 the axis of which intersects .that portion of the belt I2li that'extends around the rear of the pulley V22. This stud extends through a hole in the frame I8 (Fig. 6) and is screwed into the bracket 8|. The frame and the bracket fare additionally -connected by a clamping screw 94 that extends through an oversize hole in the frame and is screwed into the bracket. When the stud 93 and the screw 94 are both loosened, the bracket may be tilted Iabout the stud for purposes yof adjustment within the limits of the oversize hole (see the double-pointed Iarrow and radius line in Eig. '7). Since all the parts concerned with :the abrading mechanism are carried by the bracket 8|, their relations one to another are not disturbed by adjustments of this kind, and since the axis of these adjusting movements intersects the rear segment of the belt 29, such adjustments do not appreciably alter the operating relation of .the belt and the pulley 22. The above-described features of the abrading assemblage lare the subject-matter of my divisional applic-ation Serial No. 236,591, led July 26, 1939.

Since the shapel of the cutter I0 is such that lthe cutting edge rises as its diameter becomes gradually smaller in consequence of successive sharpening operations, yand since it is desirable :to counteract changes in both of these conditions to render the results of trimming uniform, fthe invention provides a novel construction including means b-y which the entire gage assemblage may be adjusted bodily as a unit toward and from the axis of the cutter with a component of vertical movement commensurate with the slantheight of the truste-conical margin of the cutter. To this end, the bracket t6 ior supporting all the gaging members is provided wtih Ian arm 85 (Figs. `2, 3, 7 and 9) by which lit is adjustably secured to the frame I8 with a clamping screw 96. The arm is arranged in a close-fitting groove in the frame that provides a mortise connection and is provided with a slot 91 that airords `a range of `adjustment along lines parallel with the slant of the margin of the cutter at front center. Consequently, when Ithe bracket is adjusted to counteract reductions in the diameter of the cutter, its adjusting movements raise the gages just enough to restore the desired clearance between the bottom of the cutter and the lips iii and |130 of .the gages.l

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and `desire to secure by Letters 'Batent `of .the United States is:

`1. A trimming machine comprising powerdriven means having a cutting `edge larranged to sever surplus material on the bottom of a. lasted shoe fed toe-foremost, and three cooperative gages each arranged to bear on the overdrawn margin of the upper adjacent to .the edge of the insolente control lthe closeness of the trimming, said gages including two opposite side-gages constructed and arranged to engage said margin at points adjacent to said cutting edge,v and the third gage being movable with respect to the side gages and mounted to be pushedA past said cutting edge by the toe of the shoe from an initial position between said side-gages.

2.' A trimming machine as defined in claim 1, in' which the side-gages are mounted to be wedged apart widthwiseof Ia shoe by the sides of the forepart 'as the latter is fed between them.

3. A trimming machine as dened in claim 1, in which the side-gages are freely rotatable rolls arranged to roll on opposite sides of the forepart of a shoe fed between them, and each having a truste-conical flange arranged to bear on ,the overdrawn margin of the upper.

4. kA trimming machine as dened in claim 1, in which one of the side-gages is movable .toward and from the other and spring-biased toward the latter, and means by which said movable sidegage is constrained to follow a path close to said cutting edge.

5. A trimming machine as defined in claim 1, in which the side-gages are arranged to be wedged apart by the forepart of a shoe fed between them and areV interconnected by means arranged to equalize their movements of approach and separation.

6. A trimming machine as defined in claim 1, comprising adjustable means arranged to regulate the path of the third gage and thereby render the trimming cut dat or concave.

. '7.l A shoe-trimming machine comprising two opposite side-gages and a toe-gage arranged to be spread apart in three different directions by the toe of a lasted shoe fed toe foremost between the side-gages, each of said gages having a thin lip arranged to bear on the overdrawn margin of the upper without masking the pleats in said margin, a cutter having a cutting edge arranged to extend across said side-gages and sever pleats between them, means by which said cutter is driven, and springs arranged to move all said gages toward each other when the shoe is removed from them.

8. A shoe-trimming machine comprising two opposite side-gages' arranged to be wedged apart by the toe of a lasted shoe fed toe foremost between them, a'rotary saucer-shaped cutter the rim of which extends across said side-gages and hasA an endless cutting edge all in one plane, means for rotating said cutter, a toe-gage arranged to be pushed from a position between said side-gages toward the axis of said cutter by a shoe fed as aforesaid, and means arranged to constrain the toe-gage to travel in a path that intersects said plane of the cutting edge within the boundary of the cutter.

9. A trimming machine as dened in claim 8v in which said means for constraining the toegage is adjustable to regulate its path of movement.

10. A trimming machine as dened in claim 8 in which the paths of movement of the side-gages are parallel with the planerof said cutting edge and in which an adjustable member for regulating the path of the toe-gage may be set to arrange that path alternatively'in parallelism with said plane and in one or more other relations to said plane.

11. A trimming machine comprising cutting means arranged to sever surplus upper material from the bottom of a lasted shoe, two spaced -foremost to said cutting means, said rolls having lips arranged to lap and bear on the bottom of the shoe to control the closeness of the trimming, and intermediate guiding means arranged to be pushed away from said rolls by the toe of the'shoe and to guide the toe along a certain path.

12. A trimming machine comprising a rotary disk having an endless cutting edge at its perimeter arranged to sever surplus material from. the bottomof a lasted shoe, and work-guiding means comprising. two members arranged to be wedged apart by opposite sides of the forepart of a shoe fed toe-foremost to said cutting edge, each of said members having a restricted bearing portion arranged to bear on the bottom of the shoe and thereby control the lcloseness of the trimming, and spring-biased means lby which said membersv are constrained to carry said 'bearing portions in paths adjacent to segments of said cutting edge.

13. A trimming machine comprising a rotary disk having an endless cutting edge at its perimeter arranged to sever surplus material on the bottom of a lasted shoe, and work-guiding means comprising two rollers arranged to be wedged yapart by the sides of the forepart of a shoe fed toe-foremost to said cutting edge, and carriers on which said rollers are mounted, said carriers being arranged to swing about individual axes parallel to the axis of said cutter and so located as to maintain the ends of the rollers in lapped relation to the perimeter of said disk, and said rollers having lips arranged to bear on the bottomof the shoe to control the closeness of the trimming.

14. A trimming machine comprising a cutter having a cutting edge arranged to sever pleats of upper material from the bottom of the toe of a lasted shoe, and work-guiding means comprising two cooperative members constrained to move toward and from each other in lapped relation to said cutting edge and arranged to bear on the overdrawn margin of t-he upper without masking the pleats thereof to i control the closeness of the tiimming, means operable by a shoe fed toe-foremost to said cutting edge to separate said members, and resilient means arranged to bear on the insole adjacent to said pleats to maintain the middle portion of the insole against the last.

15. A trimming machine comprising a rotary saucer-shaped cutter having an endless cutting edge at its perimeter arranged to sever pleats from the toe of the overdrawn margin of the upper of a lasted shoe fed toe-foremost toward the axis of t-he cutter, two spaced work-guiding members maintained adjacent to said cutting edge and arranged to bear respectively on the overdrawn margin of the upper at opposite sides of said pleats, an intermediate work-guiding member arranged to bear on said margin in front of said pleats, means for guiding said intermediate member in a path across said cutting edge, and resilient means arranged to bear on the insole behind but adjacent to said pleats to press the insole against the last.

16. A trimming machine comprising a rotary saucer-shaped cutter having an endless cutting edge at its perimeter arranged to sever surplus material on the bottom of a lasted shoe fed toeforemost toward the axis of the cutter, two spaced side-gages and a toe-gage each. arranged to bear on the overdrawn margin of the upper to control t-he closeness of the trimming, means by Which said side gages are maintained adjacent to said cutting edge with provision for movement toward and from each other, and adjustable means by Which said toe-gage is guided across said cutting edge toward and from said axis in a variable path with or without a component of movement lengthwise of said axis.

17. A trimming machine comprising a rotary 10 saucer-shaped cutter having an endless cutting edge at its perimeter, and Work-guiding means comprising a member movable across said cutting edge toward and from the axis of the cutter,

VERNON I-I. MEYER. 

